Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in theaters now, and to celebrate, guests can meet some pretty fantastic characters at Disneyland Park, including the eponymous heroes and their robot pal HERBIE.
The Fantastic Four Meet and Greets
Disney stated in the original announcement that each character would meet individually, rather than as a team or “as a family.” However, when we visited, the characters were meeting in pairs apart from HERBIE, who was separate.
Guests can find the Fantastic Four and HERBIE in Tomorrowland outside a special area dressed up for the occasion.
HERBIE Fantastic Four
HERBIE, also stylized as H.E.R.B.I.E., is the robot companion to the Fantastic Four, not to be confused with the Love Bug of a different film franchise. His name originally stood for “Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-Type, Integrated Electronics,” but has since been changed to “Highly Engineered Robot Built for Interdimensional Exploration.” This was retconned with the explanation being that the latter was HERBIE’s original name all along.
HERBIE wears many hats in the Fantastic Four family, including assistant, chef, and babysitter. He was built by Mister Fantastic (a.k.a. Reed Richards).
The Thing/Ben Grimm
Ben Grimm was spotted on the streets of Tomorrowland, ready for action. Post-incident, Grimm became The Thing, a large, strong being with rock-like skin.
Ben Grimm is played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear) in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards & The Invisible Woman (Sue Storm)
Mister Fantastic (a.k.a. Reed Richards) is the de jure leader of the group, though many might argue that his wife, Sue, is the de facto leader. After the space travel mishap that caused the DNA of the four astronauts to change, Reed Richards is, in essence, stretchy. Like a slime or a mozzarella stick (sorry, I meant a good mozzarella stick), his body can lengthen to nearly inconceivable sizes. He is played by Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) in the new film.
Susan Storm is the brains behind the Future Foundation and, incidentally, can also turn invisible on a whim. Her “side effects” from the space voyage include not only invisibility but the ability to conjure force fields, often used as shields. In The Fantastic Four: First Steps, she is portrayed by Vanessa Kirby.
Johnny Storm/The Human Torch
While we were able to spot Ben Grimm walking to his spot, he was later meeting as a duo alongside The Human Torch, a.k.a. Johnny Storm. In the upcoming film, Johnny is portrayed by Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things).
You can also check out our video below four another look at all the characters:
Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in theaters now.
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